Framingham: Longtime Nobscot optician sees future elsewhere

Friday

Jun 27, 2014 at 12:02 AM

By Danielle AmedenDaily News Staff

FRAMINGHAM - Standing outside his optical shop in the Nobscot plaza Thursday afternoon, Scott Sullivan recognized a customer going into the CVS three doors down."Mr. St. Lawrence, I have your glasses ready," Sullivan called out jovially to the man.Sullivan, who grew up in the neighborhood, has a sentimental attachment to the village and his customers. And he’s proud to display the Reader’s Choice awards he’s racked up since moving his business, Trinity Optical, into the Nobscot Shopping Center.But after 13 years there, he’s the latest tenant to leave, forced out of the largely vacant strip mall by skyrocketing rent, Sullivan says.Sullivan said his rent has almost tripled - the final straw after dealing with plaza owner Centercorp Retail Properties all these years. He moves out Saturday and into a new space at Old Path Village, 969 Concord St., next to J&M Diner.Sullivan’s shop in the Nobscot plaza is sandwiched between two of the three remaining businesses besides CVS - Sabrina Wong III Chinese restaurant and Village Cleaners. All the other storefronts – including spaces that were formerly a supermarket store in the anchor spot, a bookstore, children’s clothing store, pizzeria and bank – are now empty.Neighbors and town leaders have pushed for improvements at the plaza for years, and say they can only hope a redevelopment project is soon on the table."I guess it begs the question, are they just trying to clear everybody out so they can do something else?" said Brett Peruzzi, who heads up the group Nobscot Neighbors.Salem-based Centercorp and Shaw’s Supermarkets, which holds a long-term master lease on the property, did not return calls or emails Thursday.Northeast Retail Leasing, based in Connecticut, told Nobscot residents last month it has taken over the redevelopment and that MK Investments, a subsidiary of Shaw’s, was "aggressively pursuing plans to upgrade the center with new tenants."Broker George Lee, with Northeast, did not return a call Thursday.Meanwhile, Town Manager Robert Halpin on Thursday said Centercorp has resubmitted a bid to buy the Nobscot Chapel, on the corner lot adjacent to the plaza, from the town."Obviously things are happening. It’s kind of hard to figure out exactly who’s doing what," Halpin said.John Caras, 86, goes to CVS in the plaza everyday to buy the newspaper.After picking up his paper Thursday, he lamented about the owner of the plaza for neglecting it so."I think it's pathetic," he said. "They don't seem to want to refill any of these empty stores."Sullivan said he raised his concerns about the plaza’s deterioration and vacant storefronts to Centercorp, including back when the supermarket, but only got what he described as lip service."They say, ‘you don’t have to stay,’" he recalled."So I quit complaining because we’ve been able to survive," Sullivan said. He said he’s now sad to leave.Sullivan, who’s in his 60s, fondly recalled his first date when he rode his bike to meet a girl from the neighborhood at the Nobscot plaza."We went to Royal Pizza and I had a Coke," he said, "so there’s some sentimental aspects in one respect."Danielle Ameden can be reached at 508-626-4416 or dameden@wickedlocal.com. Follow her on Twitter @damedenMW.